The author uses Rainsford's actions to show how he becomes more animal like. Toroids the end of the story Rainsford's actions become more animal like as he is being hunted, in the woods, by General Zaroff. In the beginning of the the story Rainsford says that animals feel no fear, but at the end of the story Rainsford says “I am still a beast at bay,”(14) which implies that he knows how an animal in fear feels. Rainsford's descriptions show how he becomes more like an animal. In the beginning of the story Rainsford seems to present himself as a gentlemen but by the end he seems very uncivilized.
The narrator is separate from the story, (told in third person limited) and the reader is mostly only aware of Rainsfords thoughts and feelings until the story climaxes, then the game changes. The Most Dangerous Game takes place right after World War I in a jungle with a single mansion inhabited by the human savage, General Zaroff; the actions that were portrayed would not have been viewed as immoral or anything out of the ordinary in an area populated by only wild animals. The slaughter of animals was common for survival during the time period and scenery written about. Today people hunt for sport, but “normal” people do not hunt humans. There was a factual incident that occurred around the 1980s that could have been considered a real life version of The Most Dangerous Game.
"Who cares how the jaguar feels." This quote was said by Rainsford when he was talking to Whittney in the beginning of "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. This quote seems minor but it really helps set up the entire story. This is because Rainsford goes through a transition from always being a hunter, to having to be hunted himself, which makes him the equal to a jaguar. This evaluation is one of many contrasts and comparisons between Rainsford and General Zaroff which I'll be talking about later.
Zaroff believe that there are men of lesser value, and calls them ,“… The scum of the Earth-sailors from tramp ships-lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels- a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them.” Rainsford comes to understand he has no choice but to play the game. The reader now questions who will win. On the other hand Rainsford is also an educated avid hunter. He finds a large animal and next to it an empty cartridge, “A twenty-two.” As an experienced hunter he is surprised that the large animal would have been chased, with such a small gun. Rainsford recognizes that the animal fought, and was ultimately killed by the hunter.
They are also very aware of what plants are poisonous and unsafe to eat. (Salopek, 2005). Not only do they eat plants that grow from the forest they are also very skilled hunters. The men of the Mbuti, equipped with bow and arrows, are the primary hunters of the tribe. The women and children also help with the hunts by chasing prey into large nets held by the awaiting men.
Over the last hundred years, hunting and forest destruction have reduced overall tiger populations from hundreds of thousands to perhaps 3,000 to 5,000. Tigers are hunted as trophies and also for body parts that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. All five remaining tiger subspecies are endangered, and many protection programs are in place. Poaching is a reduced—but still very significant—threat to Siberian tigers. Tigers live alone and aggressively scent-mark large territories to keep their rivals away.
When Rainsford used the trick it slowed the General down enough so he could escape. This is the proof from the text “His mind worked frantically. He thought of a native trick he had learned in Uganda. He slid down the tree. He caught hold of a springy young sapling and to it he fastened his hunting knife, with the blade pointing downs the trail” (Connell 14).
No one can hold him back from hunting although Rainsford hunted animals, he probably felt the adrenaline rush of being hunted. In conclusion, Rainsford is a hunter who is cocky, hunts for fun, and doesn’t care about animals. He met a man named Zaroff who hunted human life. Rainsford loved to hunt so he was uncomfortable near Zaroff, He learned that being hunted was not
To General Zaroff it means nothing. He sees humans merely as animals and believes they may be hunted as such simply so he can rid himself of his boredom. Being of noble decent he values some people’s lives more than others as he sees himself and others of a similar status to be above some others, which is made clear when Zaroff states “‘I hunt the scum of the earth—sailors from tramp ships—lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels’” (19). However, he has no qualm
Living appears to be a luxury for these poor workers; their American dream is deformed. To make the capitalist society into a competitive and ruthless Darwinism jungle, the most often used metaphor in The Jungle is animal. Sinclair parallels the workers with weak creatures or rough beasts to dehumanize them and make the readers treat them with extra sympathy. "… … he [Jurgis] lived like a dumb beast of burden, knowing only the moment in which he was"(140). "Then Jurgis fought like a wild beast … …"(202).